A Brand New Life
by Maximum Twilight Addict
Summary: Max leaves the Flock and goes on to destroy Itex. A couple years later, she moves to Forks with her family,and meets the Cullens. Guess who has been living with the Cullens. And who does she meet that manages to capture her heart? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, this is my first Maximum Ride/Twilight fan fiction. I am also working on a Twilight fan fiction.**

**I don't know how long it will take me to finish this. It will depend on how much time I have to work on it.**

**I don't own any of the Maximum Ride characters or the Twilight characters. I just own the plot and the added in characters.**

I glanced around me as I pulled into the parking lot of Forks High School. Nothing had changed.

My mom had moved us out of Forks almost a year right after my father died. Then she ended up finding someone and married him after knowing him for about a month and a half. His name is Richard, and he isn't always the nicest person to be around. Richard acted like the perfect gentleman until him and mom were married. Now we know that he can be a heavy drinker, and he gets mean when he does drink. Luckily, Richard doesn't drink very often, and I'm the only one he picks on when he does drink. I take it and don't make a big deal as long as he leaves my little brother and mom alone. I know that he does love my mom, though.

I pulled into an empty space and grabbed my bag. I was a little later getting to the school than I had wanted to be. I noticed a shiny Volvo sitting across the lot and wondered who it belonged to. Probably a new kid, I thought to myself.

I jumped out of my black Jeep Cherokee and jogged towards the main office to get my schedule.

The lady working the main office recognized me and handed me my schedule and the little pink slips to get signed by every one of my teachers.

I walked out of the main office and briskly walked towards my first period class. I got there a few minutes before the bell.

"Hey guys, Alex is back!" Lauren called as soon as I walked in the door.

I grimaced and waved to the people who had turned to see for themselves. I had always disliked Lauren. I thought she was incredibly annoying.

"Miss Rhivers, please sit down. I believe there is an empty seat right here," the teacher called out.

There was another empty seat on the other side of the room, and I headed towards that one, just to annoy the teacher.

I saw him glare at me out of the corner of my eye and suppressed a grin. I glanced at my schedule and saw that his name was Mr. Cais.

The bell rang and the door opened simultaneously.

"Mr. Cullen, we would appreciate it if you were a bit earlier from now on," Mr. Cais snapped, still mad that I had gone to a different seat then he told me to.

I turned around and saw a tall, muscular guy make his way towards where I was sitting. I turned back around and faced the front of the room again.

"Hey, you're in my seat," he said coming up behind me.

"So?"

"Move."

"No."

He glared at me.

"There's another seat right over there." I said with a grin, gesturing towards what was supposed to be my seat.

He seemed very shocked that I didn't do what he wanted and went to his new seat.

I faced the front again and listened to Mr. Cais's lecture on the danger of chemicals. I doodled on a scrap piece of paper and wondered about why I suddenly felt like I was in danger. I had noticed it when I was talking to what'shisname.

I ignored the feeling, against my better judgment and glanced at the clock. The bell rang just then and I remembered that I had to get my slip signed. I wordlessly walked to Mr. Cais's desk and handed the slip to him. He signed it and handed it right back.

I walked back to my desk and gathered my things and then looked at my schedule to see the order of my classes:

Alexandra Erin Rhivers

Chemistry

Spanish III

Algebra II

Lunch

English 11

Gym

Government

I sighed as I read the list through. All my classes were so boring. Except for gym, I loved it and was good at all of the activities they wanted to throw our way.

Spanish III and Algebra II went by without any trouble. I headed off to the cafeteria when the bell rang, glad for a break in the monotonous day of school. I was also excited to see some of my old friends again.

I walked into the noisy lunch room and was immediately "attacked" by a group of guys. I recognized who they were and started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Chris demanded, grinning at me.

"You all are! You guys haven't changed a bit!" I said through my laughter. I started laughing even harder at the wounded look that appeared on Zach's face.

"I grew seven inches since I last saw you!" he complained in good humor.

"But you all act the same." I pointed out to him.

Zach nodded, agreeing with me.

We wandered into the lunch line, chatting about everything and nothing, all at the same time. Blake accidentally bumped a small, healing bruise on my side, and I winced. Chris noticed and looked at me curiously. I just shook my head slightly, and he didn't say anything about it.

I grabbed a hamburger, French fries, and a salad, and then stared in amazement at all the food the guys were grabbing. They were getting more than me!

"What," Blake said with a grin when he saw my expression, "we're growing boys."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"What," Blake said with a grin when he saw my expression, "we're growing boys."

I snickered but didn't say anything. I wondered what they would think if they saw how much I should eat at every meal.

I heard a squeal and was hugged from behind by two people.

"Hey Amanda, Jennifer," I said, smiling at my two friends. We had known each other since the day I had first moved here.

"The Cullen group is staring at you." Amanda whispered in my ear. I didn't even turn around.

"So?" I asked, following the boys to an empty table.

"They seem interested in you, for some reason," Jennifer said, "they don't normally even notice any of the other students."

"It sounds like they are extremely self-centered." I said, smirking. I sat down and then looked at Amanda and Jennifer, "So who's who?" I asked, nodding my head at the Cullen table.

"Emmett and Rosalie are together, along with Alice and Jasper. Alice, Emmett, and Edward are Cullen's. Jasper and Rosalie are twins and their last name is Hale."

I nodded, absorbing this information.

Everyone stopped talking and finished eating their food, wanting to get it done before the bell rang.

After the bell had rung, I made my way to English, wishing the day was over. I hated English, and really didn't want to go. I walked in and saw that one of the Cullen's was in my class.

I saw that the only empty seat in the class was right next to Cullen, and slouched my way over to it. I set my books down and mentally prepared myself for an incredibly boring hour.

"Hello, my name is Edward Cullen," Cullen said, turning to look at me.

"I'm M-Alex," I said, mentally slapping myself for the almost slip up.

Edward starred at me for a moment, and I felt another presence in my mind. I immediately threw blocks up, and then saw Edward's surprised expression.

'What the heck,' I thought to myself, watching him out of the corner of my eye. I was getting the same feelings I had gotten earlier, telling me that danger was near. I knew instantly that the danger was the Cullen's. 'Crap.'

The teacher started talking about the different books we would be reading this year, and I started to zone out.

Flashback:

"What do you mean?!" Fang asked me, frantic.

"I can't take this. I'm done. I don't want to babysit you all anymore. I'm leaving." I said, even though it was the hardest thing I had ever had to do.

"I thought you loved us? And that you would never leave." Angel said, tears streaming down her face. Her expression broke my heart all over again.

"Things changed." I answered coldly.

I couldn't believe that they had actually believed me. I had told them I loved them so many times, that they were my family.

I could feel their teary eyes watching me fly away.

I landed next to the Itex representative and said, "I hope you're happy."

"Almost. You are going to go live with this family, were we will be watching." He said.

I nodded and flew off, trying to fight the tears that were spilling over.

The only way to save the Flock and keep them alive was to leave them. It was the only choice I had. I only hoped that they would understand if I ever saw them again.

End of Flashback:

The bell pulled me out of my horrible memories, pulled me away from all the pain and suffering I had caused and gone through. I gathered up my books and walked to the gym, trying to get all my emotions under control.

I walked into the locker rooms and quickly changed into the gym uniforms, carefully keeping my back to the wall.

I headed into the gym and saw that three of the Cullen's were in my gym class, and that Emmett was one of them. I managed to stifle a laugh and wondered how well this was going to work.

The three of them were sitting off to the side and Emmett had turned to stare at me the minute I had walked into the door. He turned to whisper something to the other two, and then the two burst into laughter. Emmett scowled at them and turned to face me again.

The girl sitting with him was short, with spiky black hair. She jumped up and walked over towards me, still laughing at whatever Emmett had told them.

"Did you really completely blow Emmett off in your chemistry class this morning?" She asked me.

I grinned and nodded.

She started laughing again.

"I'm Alice, by the way." She said, still giggling.

Alice grabbed my arm and pulled me over to sit with Emmett and another guy.

"Alex, this is Jasper." Alice said gesturing towards the other guy, "Emmett told us about you at lunch. He was so pissed."

"Helllooo! I'm sitting right here!" Emmett said to her, glaring at Alice.

Jasper, Alice, and I start to snicker at the face Emmett was making at the. Emmett finally broke down and started to laugh with us.

"Okay everyone, today we're going to start our basketball unit." The teacher announced from the front of the gym.

We all got up and got into a line like the rest of the class. The teacher went down the line of students and put everyone onto teams. There ended up being six teams of four.

I was put on a team with Alice, Jasper, and Emmett. I knew from experience that they were probably sizing me up, wondering how good of a player I was.

The opposing team walked up, looking incredibly scared about who they were facing. When the game started, Emmett immediately stole the ball from one of the guys. Another guy, Eric, ran up to try and help his buddy. Emmett ended up passing me the ball, being that I was the only one open. I took the shot, and the ball swished into the net. Three points for us.

Emmett ran up and gave me a high five. He looked pleased and shocked that I was able to make the shot.

We won the game 11 to 0. The rest of the period passed like that first game; 15-3, 20-1, and 17-2.

Alice and I walked towards our next classes together, being that they were right next to each other. We chatted about the different students and teachers at the school.

The final class of the day seemed to take forever. I started to zone out and plan the rest of my week. I had to finish unpacking, and keep up on my homework. I would have to go shopping too, grrr.

I gathered up my things as soon as the bell rang and went to my Jeep. I got halfway across the parking lot before I realized I was missing one of my textbooks for homework. I ran back to my locker to get it, grabbed the book, and headed back to my Jeep.

I was almost to it when I heard a humming noise.

I froze, instantly recognizing the noise, but praying to God that I was wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this took so long. I never had any time to type or had no inspiration. I hope this sounds like something Max might do, sorry if it doesn't. Enjoy and Review!**

I quickly remembered that nobody around me would know who I was and that I had to act just like any normal person would in this situation. I dropped my textbook and ran back into the school. Once I was hidden in a doorway, I started to hope that the Flyboys had not been informed of my new power, which lets me change/control my appearance at will. It would be really bad if they did know.

I peeked around the corner and saw that the Flyboys were leaving. As soon as they were out of sight, I went back into the parking lot and picked up my textbook. I glanced around and was relieved to find that the parking lot was empty of people. Nobody had seen the Flyboys, or had been attacked.

I quickly got into my Jeep and drove towards home, making sure to abide the speed limits until I got out of town. Right when I hit the trees, I floored it, smiling at the quiet hum of the motor.

After I had left the Flock, I had learned how to make bombs, along with how to fix up cars,, which I found had come in very handy. I had fixed my jeep to where it could go almost 150 mph.

I slowed down and pulled into my drive, glad to see that no one was home.

I grabbed my backpack as I got out and walked into the house. I immediately noticed the handwritten note sitting in the entryway.

_Alex,_

_Your father and I have gone into town this evening to have dinner. We will not be home until tomorrow afternoon. Your brother will be staying at a friend's house so you do not have to worry about him. There is money for you to order a pizza on the table. Do your homework, and no parties. We'll see you tomorrow._

_Love,_

_Mom_

I grinned at my luck and ran upstairs into my bedroom. The walls were red with black and white polka dots. All my furniture was black, and my bedspread was red and white. I had a desk in the corner with a laptop that I had from Itex after I had betrayed them.

I had stayed with their assigned family for less than a week before I had decided to get revenge on them for forcing me to leave my Flock. They had never known what hit them. Within a year, all the Itex's were destroyed. I had taken all the money from their accounts and had put it on a card for me to use. I only thought it was fair after what they had done to me and my Flock.

I walked over to the laptop and hit the power button. Another thing I had gotten really good at was hacking. I could get into any database without them ever knowing I had been their. I kept track of what the Itex head-honchos were doing that way. I tended to use the FBI mainframe.

I sat down at the desk chair and waited for the computer to load. My mind started to drift, going back to memories of the Flock and I right before I had left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, I actually updated kinda quickly, even though I didn't get to type a whole lot. The Cullens are going to find out about Max soon, that's all I'm going to say. Thanks to all of you that have been reading and reviewing. I'm glad that you're liking it. Enjoy and Review!**

The little ding of the computer connecting to the internet brought me from my thoughts. I quickly went to work checking out what Itex had been up to. I used the FBI mainframe, being that they were the main people watching the Itex corporation. I got in quickly, making sure that I only went to the places that were absolutely necessary to look for any resent Itex activity.

I let out a sigh of relief when I found nothing in the FBI database. My relief was short lived, however, when I realized that the Itex people could be working on their own now, without the support of the company.

I quickly opened up a different tab and started typing in rapid directions to the computer. If there was any communication going on about new projects, I would know.

I got halfway into the commands to find the offenders when the laptop made a high pitched beeping. I stared at it curiously for a minute before I figured out what the beeping was.

"CRAP!!!" I yelled.

I jumped up, opened the window, and threw the laptop as hard as I could.

Halfway to the trees that bordered our yard, the laptop exploded. A piece flew back towards me and barely grazed my cheek, leaving a shallow cut.

"Some one really doesn't want me to figure out what they're up to, I mumbled to myself as I jumped out the window to go pickup the pieces of my once brilliant computer.

I gathered up all the pieces thanks to my amazing eyesight. I quickly threw the pieces away and went back into the house. I now had to get a new computer so Mom and Richard wouldn't be suspicious as to why my laptop had suddenly disappeared.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and turned around to see…


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long. Read, enjoy, AND REVIEW!!!!!!

…Edward standing in the tree line, watching me. I stared back, trying to figure out what it was that he wanted. I could feel him trying to get into my mind, but I still had the blocks up.

He started to walk up, and I tensed. I didn't know what he was, or what he was capable of doing.

"Who, or what, are you?" he asked. Edward had gotten within ten feet of me and stopped.

"I could ask you the same question." I replied, trying to figure out what he was. All I knew was that he wasn't human, or completely, anyway.

He stiffened at the idle threat in my voice.

I started to open my mouth to say something else when Edward's … scent hit me.

A low growl started in my chest. Edward was a vampire. His whole family was. That's why I felt like I was in danger every time I was near them.

Edward shifted into a crouch, a hiss slipping through his clenched teeth.

I felt him trying to get into my mind, to see what threat I would be to him and his family.

"Haven't you figured out that you can't get into my mind? Why do you keep bothering?" I asked, wanting to see how far I could push him.

Edward growled at me, a bit louder, and stalked forward a step. I held my ground, knowing not to show fear. What he didn't now was that I knew the Voulturi, and had worked for them for about half a year. I didn't really have a problem with vampires.

The reason I had been with them so long was because I had made an agreement with them. They would leave my family alone if I worked for them and allowed them to study me.

Aro had become fond of me and had tried to change me. The avian in my DNA didn't allow the change to fully happen, but his venom did have some affects on me.

I became even faster. I had broken the sound barrier while flying. I was stronger, smarter, and my skin had become a bit harder, though not nearly as hard as vampire skin. I did not crave blood, though, and for that I was very grateful. I still aged, too, just at a slower rate.

I figured Edward didn't know any of this, though.

He took another step forward, growling low in his throat. I growled backing warning.

Both of us turned at the same time when we heard the sound of a car pulling into my driveway.

The sound broke the sudden tension. Edward turned and ran into the forest, quickly disappearing from sight.

I ran around the side of the house and saw that it was my little brother.

"What're you doing here? I thought you were spending the night at Josh's house." I asked him as soon as I got into hearing range.

"I am, I just forgot my bag." He said as he ran into the house.

I smiled at the lady in the car, who was obviously Josh's mother, and then followed Ian into the house.

I had barely got through the door before he came running back out, almost running into me in the process.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys. I'm **_**sooo**_** sorry that it took me so long to update. I've been busy. Hope you like it and **_**please, please**_** review!**

"See ya Alex!" he yelled as he jumped into the car.

I watched the car pull drive away before going inside to order my pizza and grab my credit card. I knew I had to get a new laptop before mom and Richard got back from their little foray.

I quickly called in my order, realizing how hungry I was. The person told me it would take about 30 minutes for them to make my pizza.

I jumped into my Jeep and headed into Port Angeles, being careful to abide by the speed limit. I heard the humming again and looked up through the windshield to see the Flyboys flying above my jeep. I knew that a normal human would not be able to hear the humming and wouldn't know to look up even if they heard the humming, so I went against every instinct in my body, and acted normal.

I pulled up in front of the electronics store in Port Angeles and let my appearance change. I looked like the real Max. My mom and Richard would never recognize me if they saw me.

I walked in and walked to wear the laptops were displayed. I quickly found the same model as the one I had stolen from Itex.

I found a sales person and bought the laptop. I walked out with the box under my arm and climbed back into my Jeep.

I drove over to the pizza place and picked up my pizza before heading back home.

I drove past the little Italian restaurant and saw Mom and Richard walking out. Richard looked up and saw my car.

I watched as his face turned red. I knew that he had recognized my Jeep, and he thought Alex was the one driving.

I casually rolled down the passenger window, and saw his face clear when he realized that it wasn't Alex.

I quickly got home, having had enough excitement to last me the rest of the week. Of course, when was my life ever that simple.

I pulled into my driveway and immediately saw the strange, black SUV parked there.

I tensed up and changed my appearance back to Alex, hoping to be able to confuse them if they were my past coming back to get me.

Three men in black suits climbed out of the SUV as I pulled up behind them.

They walked towards the car as I rolled up all the windows before I climbed out. One of them was smirking, probably thinking that I was stalling.

It infuriated me because I realized that was exactly what I was doing.

I got out of my Jeep and faced what I considered a massive threat.

"Are you Alexandra Erin Rhivers? One of them asked as soon as I had the door shut.

"Yes, who're you?" I asked warily.

'That's classified." The tallest of the three answered.

I tried not to snort. Dear Lord, they thought they were all tough and macho, but they have no idea that I could take on the three of them and win without even breaking a sweat, I thought to myself.

I was careful to keep my facial expression wary, like I was actually afraid of them.

"And why would that be classified?" I asked, schooling my expression to look innocent.

"That's none of your business!" the shortest one all but snapped, glaring at me.

The one that was obviously in charge gave him a look before turning back to me.

"Do you mind if we ask you some questions?" In Charge asked.

I ignored the sense of doom I felt and nodded.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it took so long. Anyway, there's a huge twist coming up in the next chapter!!!** **I'll give you all a hint, though. Even though the Flock is back in the story, Max and Fang won't be hitting it off. Fang found someone else, and someone imprints on Max. Read and Review and I'll get the next chapter out even faster!!!**

"Do you believe that scientists could use genetics to cross the DNA of a human and, say, a bird?" Shorty asked, staring at my face intently trying to seem nonchalant about it.

"I imagine scientists could, but why would they want to. I mean, wouldn't our government have laws against that sort of thing?" I said, feigning innocence.

"Well, what if the government didn't know about it?" Captain Oblivious (the tallest one) said.

"Scientists probably would be able to find ways around the government, but why would they want to? Would that be cruel to the actual to the people?"

"You sure seem to know what you're talking about." In-Charge said, smirking at me. I realized too late that I was speaking almost as if from experience and had given myself away.

'Crap.' I thought, and watched silently as they each pulled out a gun. I heard a humming in the distance, and knew I was in deep trouble.

"Did you really think that you could fool us? That we didn't know who you were? Even with your new powers, it wasn't too terribly hard to find you, and to make sure that your 'family' was all Itex employed. Please, we're not stupid, little birdie." Captain Oblivious sneered. Maybe he wasn't so oblivious after all.

"So, are you going to come with us quietly, or are you going to make things difficult." Shorty asked.

"Okay, for one, when have I ever come quietly? And two, I'd like to see you try and get me to go back to that hell hole." I said, preparing myself for a huge fight.

I heard the humming get louder and knew the Flyboys where almost over us. Contrary to popular belief at the School, I wasn't stupid. I knew I was outmatched.

I grinned at the three men standing in front of me, waved, then turned around and took off, instantly pushing myself faster.

I heard the Flyboys land behind me and give chase.

'Crap. Crap. Crap.' I thought, weaving my way through the trees and trying to outrun the Flyboys that were in pursuit.

I heard a snarling sound and realized that there were the original Erasers with the Flyboys.

'This day just keeps getting better and better.' I thought to myself.

I veered to the left, trying to trick the Erasers/Flyboys that were chasing me. Before too long, I was unknowingly running along the Quileute/Cullen border.

"Freeze Ride!" I heard one of them shout from behind me. "We have your Flock!"

I instantly stopped running and started to spin around to face my attackers. I only made a quarter turn before seeing my Flock with guns pointed at their heads. In the next instance I saw the Cullens standing behind the Flock and realized that my Flock must have been living with the Cullens.

An Eraser jabbed his gun into Angel's back, making her stumble forward. I saw red.

"What are you talking about? I don't see Max anywhere." Nudge asked the Eraser that had yelled at me to freeze.

Oh. Right. They don't know about my new powers. I let my appearance change, and was Maximum Ride again.

"MAX!!!" the Flock yelled, and I couldn't tell if they were happy to see me or not. The Cullens just looked confused, but I could tell that they just wanted to protect the Flock. I was betting that they knew everything, so they knew that I had left them.

I turned to face Talon, the one who had yelled at me, and my tormentor whenever they managed to catch me.

"What do you want? And why did you attack the Flock! What happened to our agreement?" I growled at him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay. I actually updated quickly!! Go me!! Anyway, here comes an awesome chapter where Max totally kicks butt and the twist comes. Sorry about the slight cliffy, buti wrote a long chapter to make up for it. Read, Enjoy, and ,as always, Review!!!**

"Well, we figured you forfeited the agreement when you moved near your precious Flock." Talon said, grinning at me.

"For your information, my so called parents moved here, and I moved with them. I just now figured out the Flock was here. And I think you know all this already. So what do you want?"

"A rematch, of sorts. You win, the Flock lives and won't come back to the school. I win, well, let's just say it won't be fun for any of you." Talon said.

"You're so cocky. Have you forgotten how many time I've already kicked your butt?" I asked, trying not to laugh at him.

"I've been updated. Now, what's your choice?" he growled, finally getting agitated.

"I'll fight you."

Talon grinned, obviously thinking he was going to win.

Talon and I started to circle one another, and I wasn't so focus on the fight that I missed the four giant wolves that had come up. Apparently the Cullens had seen them too.

I turned my attention back to Talon in time to get kicked in the chest. Really hard. I flew backwards and slammed into a tree. I managed to roll out of the way in time to miss a round house kick to the head. Talon wasn't kidding when he said he had been upgraded.

I stayed crouched on the ground and spun in a circle with one leg out, knocking Talon flat on his back. I used the second he was on the ground to get back on my feet. He jumped up, almost too quickly and I instantly realized he was part vampire too. 'Well, that explains the speed and strength. Guess we're more evenly matched now.' I thought to myself.

We slowly circled each other. Talon seemed to have realized that this wouldn't be as easy a fight as he thought, and then ran at me again. I dodged under the punch he threw and hit him in the gut. Any other person would have been on the ground with the power of the punch. Talon just looked a little winded.

"You're good," I said. He smirked, and opened his mouth to say something. "But I'm better."

With a growl, Talon launched himself at me. We both landed in a pile on the ground and proceeded to punch and kick any part of the other person that we could lay hands/feet on. Well, Talon did. I also bit and pinched. I never claimed to fight fair. I was also desperate to win the fight, to keep my Flock safe and alive.

We rolled across the ground, both of us trying to get the upper hand on the other. I was trying to use the fact that I was a bit faster than Talon against him, but he always seemed to be expecting it. Talon managed to land a punch on my side, and I hit him in the nose. He grunted and tried to hit me back, but I moved my head to the side so he punched the ground. I shoved away from him and climbed to feet.

We faced off again, and everything around me faded into the background as I focused solely on the fight at hand. Talon feinted to the left, and I stupidly fell for it. Talon came at me from the right, grabbed my arms, and then used my own momentum to slam my back into the nearest tree. I clamped my lips together so I wouldn't whimper as all the air rushed from my body. I heard a couple cracks, and knew at least two ribs had been broken on impact.

I jumped back to my feet, more out of reflex than anything else. I tried to hide my wheezing as I fought for breath. Talon ran at me again, and I slid to the side, avoiding his head attack. He spun around and came at me again, with the same results. H seemed to have forgotten that head-on attacks had never worked on me before.

When he ran at me for the third time, I moved to the side and then kicked him behind the knees to knock him over. I jumped on top of him, and tried to keep the upper hand I had gained. Talon landed a punch on my temple, and while I was seeing stars, he got back on his feet. Being the kind of fighter I am, I kicked him as hard as I could where the sun don't shine.

Talon doubled over, gasping. I pushed myself up, and saw him reaching to his side. I realized instantly what he was reaching for, but was unsurprised. As he lifted the gun and took aim, I jerked backward and to the side. I felt the two bullets graze my chest/shoulder as they went by. I launched myself at him and wrestled the gun away. I got the gun, took aim, and fired. The bullet hit Talon between the eyes.

I sank to the ground, gasping for breath as everything around me came back into focus. The Flock rushed over and landed on top/all around of me.

"Ribs. Ribs." I gasped, especially when all the pain came back to me.

"OMG!!! Max you won! And you're here! We thought you were dead! Or that you had joined the School! I thought you had been shot, but I guess you had moved too fast for any of us to see! Mphff!!!" Nudge rambled until Iggy clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Thanks" I gasped out, trying to get my breath back.

I looked around and realized all the Flyboys/Erasers had been killed. I glanced to my other side and saw that the wolves were still here. I was still surprised by their size, and by the fact that they had never tried to attack my.

My eye was drawn to the biggest of them, a giant black wolf who was staring straight me, almost as if he had never seen something so beautiful (**a.n. I wonder what's going to happen next…hmmm…**)

"They are all werewolves. And the big black one has imprinted on you." Angel said suddenly from my lap.

"Maybe you should tell us everything." One of the Cullens said, as they all walked up to us.

I looked away from the wolf and heard them get up and walk away.

"Who're you?" I asked.

"Nice manners, Max" Fang mumbled from beside me.

"Shut up. I just saved your butt. I have the right to know who the vampires are that are surrounding us."

There was a collective gasp from the Cullens when I said that. A deep chuckle came from behind me, and I whipped my head around to see four guys walk up, all without shirts on. Instinct told me these were the giant wolves from before.

"My name is Carlisle. This is my wife Esme, and you know the rest of my family, it seems." Said the vampire from before, obviously trying to be polite.

I glanced at Fang, and he nodded.

"Obviously, my name isn't Alex. My real name is Max, Maximum Ride. I left the Flock three years ago when the School, also known as Itex, threatened to kill them if I didn't leave them. I would have stayed, but I saw the snipers that were trained on the Flock as they slept. I went to live with the family Itex had assigned me to, but I stayed there less than a week. I started to destroy all the Schools, most of the time using bombs I had made." Iggy and Gazzy grinned when they heard me say this, "I got captured a couple of times, and was experimented on. The last time I escaped, I was found by the Volturi."


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back everyone! I know it's been forever, and please don't be mad at me! My computer crashed and I lost literally everything. Then I kind of forgot about my stories and fanfiction until recently. I have started wanting to write again, and then looked up this story. At first I wasn't even going to mess with it, and I was just going to let someone adopt it if they wanted to. But then I read it and realized that I wanted to work on it some more! Yay! I cranked out this chapter within a day for y'all, so please review for me! If you do, I'll be sure to keep up better, and I'll hopefully actually finish a story! Read, enjoy, and review! **

Everyone around me gasped again at that little tidbit of news, even the Flock. I guess the Cullens had told them about the Volturi. Not that it really surprised me, I mean; the Flock had lived with the Cullens for a while if they knew the Cullens were living with vampires. Speaking of which…

I turned to look at the Flock, giving them a patented Max stare.

"And why are you all living with vampires, may I ask?" I asked them all in general, watching the group start to squirm under my gaze.

"Why do you care, Max? You're the one who left us! We did nothing to you and you just abandoned us!" Fang yelled back at me, suddenly lived.

I have to say that I was a bit shocked. What happened to Mr. Say Nothing? His words caught up with me, though, and I was every bit as pissed as he was, maybe even more.

"I left to save you all, you moron! Why else would I ever leave the Flock behind? You all were my family! The only family I had!" I took a deep breath, and continued one more calmly. "Itex was somehow tracking me. I was the only one that they wanted though. They told me that if I did not leave the Flock, then they would kill each and every one of you. And that they would make sure that I saw it all. I knew they weren't lying, so I did the only thing I could do. I left. God, none of you know how hard that was to do. And you all believed me so easily! I think that was probably the thing that hurt the most! The only good that came out of my leaving is that I destroyed Itex once and for all."

By the end of my little rant/speech, I felt tears pouring down my face. I wiped my hand across my cheek and looked at it in shock. I hadn't cried in over a year. No matter what happened. Not after I left the Flock.

Everything was suddenly too much. I spun around and took off into the woods again, speeding up to my vampire speed. I heard my name being called behind me, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. I just ran, not paying attention to where I was going or what was around me.

I eventually became aware that I was being followed, but I didn't feel threatened in the least, which surprising in itself. I slowed down a bit and let my senses take over to tell me who it was that had decided to follow me after my meltdown of sorts.

AS I slowed down to a normal pace, or a normal pace for me, all he aches and pains from my fight came back to me. The pain from my ribs almost knocked me to the ground.

'Ok,' I thought to myself. 'Maybe more than two ribs are broken.'

"Max, stop running before you hurt yourself even more than you are already." A deep voice said from behind me.

Oddly enough, the voice was extremely comforting to me.

In typical Max style, however, I had to keep running. Cuz I just can't ever seem to take orders from anyone. I'm just funny like that.

I had to stop when I broke out of the woods and found myself standing on a ledge. I calmly walked to the ledge and just stood there, looking out over all the water. I heard the guy that had followed me from the scene of the fight walk up behind me, but I didn't turn around. Instinct told me that he wouldn't hurt me; he would be the one that could always be counted on to protect my back at all costs.

He stood behind me for a couple minutes, watching me I guess, before he moved again to stand beside me, looking out over the ocean.

"It's beautiful." I said quietly.

"That it is," I heard him turn a little bit to look at me. "My name is Sam. Sam Uley."

"I'm Max. Maximum Ride," I said back, curious to know this man that had heard a bit about my past, and didn't run the other way. He actually followed me when I'm betting that no one else would have.

Suddenly emboldened, I turned to face Sam, and realized that I had to look up at him to be able to look him in the eye. That was a rare occurrence, being that I'm freakishly tall myself.

"What are you? I know you aren't completely human. You almost have a… canine or wolf smell mixed in with your human smell."

He just stared at me, obviously shocked at my bold question. Then he smiled at me.

"I could ask you the same thing. Except you smell like a bird… and a vampire. But you don't smell bad, not like most vampires do to the Pack." Sam said, looking at me curiously. He even cocked his head to the side a bit… just like a dog does…

"You were the giant black wolf, weren't you?" I asked, quickly piecing everything together in my head.

Sam looked at me in complete shock again, before slowly nodding his head 'yes.'

"So are you a werewolf or something?" I asked him, closely watching his facial expressions.

He just nodded yes again, without ever looking away from me, though I could tell he was just a bit uncomfortable with the fact that I could guess what he was.

I simply stood there looking back at Sam, taking in and cataloguing this new information.

Sam finally found his voice.

"Yes, I am a werewolf, as we call ourselves. We are technically shape shifters though. And say we because there are actually quite a few of us. A pack, for all intents and purposes. I'm the Alpha. Now, why don't you tell me why you smell like you are part bird, and vampire for that matter." Sam said.

I took a deep breath.

"It all started almost 19 years ago…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! So I actually managed to update in a sort of timely manner. At least timely for me haha. I saw some people added me to their favorite story list, and I love y'all for it! Now just review for me as well, cuz it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! ;) Anyways… read, enjoy, and review! **

Chapter 10

"It all started about nineteen years ago. Itex had been doing a lot of research, and quite a bit of experimenting. They had finally gotten something right. Itex figured out how to cross human and animal DNA. The first successful experiments were human and lupine crosses, that the Flock and I called Erasers.

About a year later, they got their first human- bird experiment. Me. Not too long after that, Fang and Iggy came into the picture. Then Nudge. Finally the Gasman, and then Angel. Those two are the only two out of the whole Flock that were actually related, siblings actually.

We grew up in the lab, in dog crates that were too small for us, getting experimented on whenever the scientists wanted to. I was there for the first ten years of my life, until a scientist named Jeb took pity on the six of us and helped us to escape. He was like a father figure, and lived with us happily for the next two years. One day Jeb disappeared, and we all just sort of assumed that Jeb had died. The six of us had taken to calling ourselves the Flock by that time.

We lived on our own for another two years, until Itex came back into our lives. They took Angel, and when the rest of us went to go rescue her, we found out that Jeb was actually one of the bad guys. He had been working for Itex the whole time. We got Angel out of there, and then lived on the run for about two years, I think.

Then the School, what we had always called Itex before we knew the name of the company, came back into the picture again. This time, they approached me. They told me that I had to leave my Flock, or they would kill the Flock, and I would watch it happen without the power to stop it. I knew that the School would do what they told me, so I left the Flock. It was the hardest thing I have ever done.

The School made me stay with a family of theirs, so I could be observed. That didn't even last a week before I took off and set out on a mission of my own, to destroy Itex. I bombed the last Itex building about a year and a half ago. Itex itself is now gone, but I'm almost positive that some of the scientists had escaped and went underground. I found a new power of mine in the process of demolishing Itex. I could change my appearance at will. Before I could use my newfound power to find a regular, all human family to live with, the Volturi found me. I stayed with them for around six months, and left when they tried to experiment on me.

I found a family, changed my name to Alexandra Erin Rhivers, and lived the life of a normal teenage girl ever since, at least I thought I had." I said everything in a matter of fact tone, blocking out all of the emotions and memories my little recap brought to the front of my mind.

I felt the familiar anger sweep through me, and used it to heal the injuries I had gotten in my fight with Talon. I knew that I would heal quickly enough, but the anger was there and would heal my wounds almost instantaneously. It came in handy sometimes. Just another quirk from being part vampire, and from being experimented on.

I realized that I had avoided looking at Sam the whole time I was telling him my story, and that I was actually concerned with what he would think of me after he knew all the crap I had been through throughout my screwed up life. It was more than a little unnerving, especially since I couldn't remember the last time I had cared at all about what others thought of me. It would be food for thought for later.

I turned completely around and looked up at Sam, and was surprised to find that he had moved so that he was standing almost directly behind me. Sam was trembling slightly, like my story had greatly affected him or something.

I met his gaze; and was almost knocked to my knees by the depth of his emotions for me. I could see it all, and knew that it was most likely reflected back in my own gaze. It scared me that I could already feel this strongly for this man that I had just met. I wasn't accustomed to being the center of anyone's attention, at least in a good way. It was mind- boggling, but in a good way.

"What's happening to me?" I asked him, so quietly I almost didn't hear myself.

Sam must have heard me though, because he sighed to himself before saying, "I guess I have a little bit of explaining to do myself."

"So you know that I am a werewolf, and that there are quite a few of us. I'll take you to a bonfire later so you can learn about our legends, but for now I'll just give you a shorter version.

Vampires are the reason we turn into wolves. And during the period of time when we are always shifting, we don't age. We shift, sometimes against our will, when dealing with powerful emotions, most of the time anger or grief.

Anyway, when a wolf finds his soul mate, his other half, he or she imprints on that person. It's like gravity isn't holding you to the earth anymore, that person is holding you. It's an unbreakable tie to your other half. It can actually cause the wolf physical pain to be away from their imprint. The wolf can never hurt their imprint, and will do anything to protect her, or him. It's kind of like love at first site, except ten times as powerful.

The reason I'm telling you this is because I imprinted on you Max. Fate has decided you are my perfect other half, and from hearing your story, I can see why."

I just stared at him in shock, trying to absorb this news. Before I could say anything, Sam continued.

"I was trembling after listening to your story because I was fighting off a change. It infuriated me to know all the pain that you have gone through throughout your life, and to know that there isn't a thing I can do to change it. It hurt me to because it all hurt you so much. I know this is all really sudden, and that you are going to need time to process everything, but just know that I'm here for you. Now, let's head back to the bloodsucker's house, 'cuz I bet you are every bit as hungry as I am, maybe even more." Sam finished with a grin.

I couldn't help but smile back at him. I had to admit to myself that I rather liked having Sam just for myself, knowing that he could never leave me, no matter what stupid stunt I pulled. Because I knew that I would pull one in the future. It was just in my DNA or something crazy like that.

"Oh, by the way, I don't drink blood. Just thought you would like to know that." I tossed over my shoulder with a grin before I took off running back towards the Cullens' house. I heard a bark of laughter before Sam took off in hot pursuit.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone. Sorry it has been so long since I last updated. Its long though! So read, enjoy, and review!**

Sam chased me through the woods, laughing the whole time. I was laughing too, and it felt so freeing. It had been way too long since I had just let go and be myself. The little game between Sam and I was really helping. Sam spent the whole run back to the Cullen's house trying to catch me, and I spent the run avoiding him. Sam never caught me.

We made it to the Cullen's back yard and stopped, both of us panting and completely out of breath. We leaned against each other to try and catch our breath.

Sam and I walked through the back door into the Cullen's home, and immediately smelled burgers cooking. It smelled heavenly.

"I think I'm in heaven" I said, nose up in the air inhaling the scent. "I don't have to hunt done and cook my own lunch like I used to have to do!"

"What did you normally eat?" Sam asked, turning to look at me.

"It just depended on where I was. Mostly rabbits or desert rats. I've gone dumpster diving at McDonalds if I'm really desperate." I said absently, more focused on the food that I could see layed out on the table. I was starving.

Sam looked at me incredulously. "Desert rats?"

"Hey, they aren't that bad. Plus, everyone gets a leg." (Quote from the book! Ha-ha!)

He just shook his head and headed towards the kitchen. I quickly followed, seeing as my stomach had started to talk to me.

I slowed down a bit when I saw the whole Flock already seated around the table. I had no clue if they had already forgiven me, or if they had all decided to tell me to get lost.

I didn't get a chance to stand there awkwardly, however. Angel was quick to beckon me over to the two empty seats beside her, one of which Sam was getting ready to sit in. Just as I sat down, Esme walked in and placed a huge plate of cheeseburgers down in the middle of the table.

Before anyone could even move to grab a burger, I had two snatched and already on my plate, and another on the way to my mouth. Everyone stopped and just stared at me, including all the vampires that had just walked into the room.

"What?" I asked defensively. "I'm hungry. Healing as fast as I do, and fighting like that makes me hungry"

"Well there's plenty more where that came from." Esme said soothingly, smoothing down my slightly ruffled feathers (pun intended (: ) with ease.

I saw Fang was still staring at me, and I very maturely stuck my tongue out at him. He was quick to retaliate, and then dug into his own food.

Talk flowed easily at the table while we ate. The whole Flock was trying to talk over one another in their attempt to update me on their lives. Hours slipped past with none of us noticing. The Cullens stayed in the kitchen with us, and I got to know them better as well. I came to find that I was glad that the Flock had stayed with them. The Cullens could provide protection, and a bit of the normal family feeling that we had all missed growing up.

"So why were you all not in school today?" I asked.

"We decided that since we had already tried school, and none of us really liked it, we would just have Mom home school us. We could still be ourselves, and get an education so we weren't completely ignorant." Fang answered, smiling slighty.

"Yoo-hoo! We're back!" Some girl called from the entryway. She, along with two other kids, walked into the kitchen/dining room area. "Who's she?"

I didn't even look up to see who had entered the area. I didn't feel threatened, and I was more interested in my food.

"That's Max." Fang answered.

I looked up then, hearing my name, in time to see the girl's face contort in rage.

"You bitch!" She screeched. Before anyone could react, she whipped out a knife and threw it at me.

Angel screamed, and I felt Nix come awake inside me.

The knife stopped inches from my face.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to fight Nix back. She felt threatened now, and wanted to kill the threat.

"Fang, I suggest you get your 'friend' out of the room before I lose control of myself and do something I will regret." I said slowly, as if I had to drag the words out of myself. In a way, though, I had to, because Nix was fighting me. I had to work to even be able to talk slightly normal.

I opened my eyes and heard everyone gasp, and knew what made them. Nix was trying to get control, and she had turned my eyes a vibrant violet color.

"Max…your eyes…" Nudge whispered.

I closed my eyes again and took another deep breath.

"It's Nix. My alter ego, I guess you could say. She has always been a part of me, but when Aro bit me to try to change me; she became a separate entity of sorts. Whenever I get ridiculously angry, or feel threatened, Nix comes to the fore front and fights with me for control. She is like my fight response, just jacked up on mountain dew or something." I tried to make light of the very heavy situation, being that I could feel Nix settling back down being that the threat was not present any longer.

"Oh my God…" Esme whispered.

I could tell that she was upset. I think that they were all just starting to realize how difficult my life had been before I met them.

"She has definitely made my life difficult." I mumbled, absentmindedly rubbing the scar running across my neck. I instantly moved my hand away when I realized what I was doing, but it was too late. Fang had already zeroed in on the faded scar that wrapped around my neck.

"Max, what is that?" he asked.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Ok. I updated. It's been a bit, but I updated. Ha-ha. I know this chapter is not as long as some of my others, but I ran out of ideas… Anyway, read, review, and enjoy!**

"That, dear Fang, is the scar from one of the failed attempts of the School to kill me." I said in an obnoxiously sweet voice, still feeling the affects of having fought off Nyx (I changed the spelling, you're not crazy ha-ha).

"And the two huge scars on your arms, what are those from?" Fang asked, almost accusingly. I shifted uncomfortably. How does one go about telling your family that you attempted to commit suicide, and on numerous occasions?

I didn't have long to deliberate, because Angel and Edward both gasped, and I realized that I had dropped my mental shield by mistake.

"Max! What were you thinking?" Angel shrieked at me, leaving the rest of the flock clueless.

I was instantly on my feet, reacting instinctively to her accusatory tone. "I was thinking that I was unwanted, and maybe I could screw the School over if I was dead!" I shouted back, instantly pissed.

Everyone was quiet as my words sunk in. Sam wrapped an arm around me and pulled me down next to him, tucking me into his side as if to protect me from everything.

I looked back at my food, and took an angry bite of hamburger. No matter what everyone thought, I was still hungry. I made it through a whole burger before anyone got the balls to ask me anything.

"How many times?" Carlisle asked quietly.

"I attempted suicide three different times, and the School killed me four times." I said, looking at my plate and nowhere else.

"Don't you mean attempted to kill?" Sam asked gently, concerned and getting angry.

"No, the school has actually killed me four different times. They brought me back each time so that they could continue to run experiments and tests on me. They could not just leave me dead, and leave me alone." I said quietly, a tear slipping out at all the remembered pain that I went through at the School's hands.

No one knew what to say to that and just sat around me awkwardly.

"Is that bitch still here?" The girl that threw the knife at me asked, walking back into the kitchen.

"Yes, I am, but you won't be if you call me a bitch one more time." I growled out, glaring at her.

"Meghan, I suggest you not mess with Max. She's stronger than you, a lot stronger. I don't want you to get hurt." Fang said cautiously.

I instantly realized that Meghan was Fang's girlfriend, and must have thought I was here to take him from her.

"Meghan, I'm not going to take Fang from you, if that's what you are so concerned about." I said to her, trying hard not to roll my eyes.

"Max, how strong are you?" Jasper asked me, turning my attention away from Fang's girlfriend.

"Strong enough to take out members of the Volturi guard." I said, grinning wickedly.

He grinned back, "Care to prove it?"

I threw my head back and laughed. "How about I go get my things from my house, let me bomb the house so it will through everyone and Forks won't wonder why I disappeared on my first day, and then I'll fight you Jasper." I said with a grin.

"You're going to bomb your house Max?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah, wanna come with?" I asked knowing that him and the Gasman were extremely excited to see the bombs that I made.

"Yes!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay everyone, I know it has been a while since I last updated, but I made up for it with a long and action filled chapter! And I have over 100 reviews! Yay! Now please don't hate me at the end of this chapter. No death threats please! The more reviews I get, the faster I will update! Anyways, read, enjoy, and review!**

Everyone ended up going with me back to my old house. I think the Flock just didn't believe that I actually knew how to make explosives. I knew the Cullens were curious about me in general. Sam came along because he didn't want to leave me alone with the Cullens, and Meghan didn't want me alone with Fang. She seemed to think that I was going to steal Fang away from her, even though I just found my mate, who is better suited to me than Fang ever was. Plus, I was not the girl who would steal another's boyfriend. That was just not right, and would piss me off if someone tried to do that to me.

"Now I want everyone to stay out here while I get my clothes and such, and set up the bomb. I don't want to have to worry about a bunch of people in the house, especially if I have to set the bomb off early." I ordered, looking at everyone. Sam and the Flock were the only ones that looked like they wanted to argue, but one look at my face shut them all up. I waited for them to all nod their agreement before turning around and facing my old house. Well, it wasn't really old. I hadn't stayed there very long.

I quickly ran to the side of the house and jumped up to catch hold of my window sill. I jimmied up the window and hauled myself into my old room. I dove under the bed and grabbed both of my old backpacks. I kept one of them always packed for occasions such as this. The other backpack held an assortment of bombs and bomb making materials.

I ran downstairs and started pulling out the bombs I had built. They would destroy the building, but it would look like a fire had done all the damage. That's what I did to the Itex buildings, and no one was the wiser, even though the same thing happened to all the buildings…

Anyways, I grabbed the bombs and placed them around the house, setting to timer on each of them so the bombs would go off at the same time. I made sure to only put the bombs on the same floor so that the upper floor would naturally burn down.

I placed the last bomb, grabbed both of my backpacks, and high tailed it out of the house.

"Move!" I yelled, knowing that debris was going to be flying when the bombs went off.

"And where do you think you're going, Miss Ride?" Richard called from behind me.

"Anywhere you aren't." I answered snarkily, truing to face the man and motioning everyone to get lost with the hand I kept behind my back.

"Now now, don't be like that Max. After all, you shouldn't talk like that to your father. You should show me respect."

"Why would I do that when I don't respect you? Besides, I have places to go, people to see, and Itex workers to track down, so I'll see you around. Or not." I said back to him, knowing my words would make him mad. I wasn't the type of person to stand around and let someone pick on me for very long. I'll just call this my rebellion against the man called Richard.

"I think you are going to back into that house, disable all the bombs I know you set up in there, and then you are going to come with me." He said angrily, pulling a gun on me.

Only, this was any gun. It was the kind of gun that the military uses, an automatic. And I'm not fast enough to move out of the way of those bullets.

I didn't even have to think to know that I would rather die than give up the people that I had just found. Plus, I would never go willingly with anyone from the School again.

"I guess you're going to have to use that gun of yours because I'm not going with you." I said before turning around and sprinting into the trees.

I heard the bark of the gun, and the answering sharp pain as the bullet bit into my back. Richard only managed to hit me once before I was in the safety of the trees, but I knew instinctively that this one shot that he got was serious. Really serious. I knew from the draining feeling I had that it must have nicked an artery, or even my heart.

"Max!" Angel yelled at me as I stumbled, already losing too much blood.

"I'm okay." I called to her without really thinking about what I was saying, even as I collapsed to my knees.

Everyone instantly surrounded me, and Carlisle came forward, being the doctor and all.

"It's bad. We have to get her back to the house immediately, or she won't even have a fighting chance." I vaguely heard him say.

I was picked up, and the wind rushing through my hair told me that I was moving incredibly fast. I fought to stay awake, I really did, but I knew that I was fighting a losing battle. I was losing too much blood, and I could feel my body shutting down in response. My heart rate and breathing slowed down to dangerous levels, and it would scare everyone even more, especially if I never woke back up to explain that my body does this to protect itself, and to give itself a chance to heal. There was a ery good chance that this wound was too great for even my body to heal, and that I could die.

I closed my eyes, feeling exhausted and just wanting to close my eyes to rest for a bit. I was resigned to the fact that I was going to pass out from blood loss, and could easily die. At least I got to see my Flock one more time. I ignored the yelling, and even ignored whoever decided to try slapping me in an attempt to keep me awake. I was too tired.

Everything slipped away as I faded into oblivion, welcoming the darkness and the peace that it offered me.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey y'all! I know it has been awhile since I updated, but I've been really busy. Anyways, this chapter isn't the longest, but I ran out of ideas. I have a general idea of where I want this story to go, but some ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'm done talking, so read, enjoy, and please review! (:**

Chapter 14

Sam POV

"Carlisle, you have to save her! We can't lose her after we just got her back!" one of the Flock kids yelled frantically after yelling at Max to wake up, to not close her eyes.

I just stood there in shock. My imprint had been shot, and was dying. I had just found her, and fate was already trying to take her away from me.

"Max, you have to keep fighting. You can't leave me, or the family that you just found and reconnected with. You're too strong to give up now! Don't let the School win!" I said to her quietly, waiting for to wake up and okay. She just lay there.

I growled at the hand that landed on my shoulder, the wolf close to the surface because my imprint was hurt.

"We need to move her so she is more comfortable, and so I can work on her back. She is still losing blood, which is really dangerous." Carlisle said quietly, obviously attempting to comfort me.

I nodded to him and picked her up carefully from the couch where we had been stopping the blood loss, following Carlisle to a room upstairs. It looked like a study, except for all the medical equipment that was in the room. I set her down on the cot looking bed in the middle of the room, and Carlisle shot forward to start working on my imprint.

I stayed by Max's side and held her hand as Carlisle worked on the gaping hole in her back. I winced for her at some of the things that looked incredibly painful, and fought to keep the wolf back. He was fighting for the change so he could protect our mate and not let anyone near her. I knew that Max would need help, and that helped to sooth the wolf until Max could wake up and prove that she was okay on her own.

A couple hours went by as I sat by Max's side, simply holding her hand. Feeling her heart beat steadily, if a bit slowly, was a huge comfort to me. It soothed the wolf even more as well. I knew that I needed to talk to the Pack soon, but couldn't bring it in me to leave my mate in this vulnerable of a position without me there to protect her.

Another hour passed before Carlisle walked back into the room to check on the wound.

"This is incredible." Carlisle muttered to himself as he examined Max's back.

"What is it?" Edward asked as he walked into the room, bringing a bowl of warm water to wash off Max's back with. The wound had started to seep blood every so slightly.

"She is already healing. And at an incredible rate! If I look closely, I can see everything healing up. Amazing. Max's heart rate and blood pressure are close to that of someone in a coma. I'm wondering if she slipped into a coma to heal on her own…" Carlisle trailed off thoughtfully as he gazed at Max.

"When will she wake up?" I asked quietly, staring into Max's peaceful looking face.

"I have no idea. I would say hours to days, but with the way she is healing, it could be anytime." Carlisle answered, checking Max's vitals.

The Flock filed into the room and crowded up around the bed at that time.

"I can't hear her." The littlest one said sadly, tearing up.

"It'll be okay, Angel. This is Max we are talking about. She is too stubborn to be taken out by a single bullet. It'd take a whole military to kill her." Fang said Angel.

"You got that right." A voice croaked out.

"Max!" Everyone yelled excitedly.

"Shhh… its quiet time." She said back, wincing at the noise level. I threw back my head and laughed, relieved that she seemed to be alright at the moment.

Max P.O.V.

I groaned as I tried to shift to the side slightly, and gave up on moving. Everyone was watching me like a hawk, pun intended, and it started to make me a bit nervous.

I looked up at everyone. "Well, this sure has been a shitty day." I quipped with a small smile on my face.


	15. Chapter 15

**I realize it's been a while… but I updated! I have had writer's block…and a job…and senior year classes…and college applications…and way too much on my plate. I found the time to treat you all with a nice update though, so read, review, and, by all means, enjoy!**

Chapter 15

One Week Later:

"I swear to God, if you all don't stop following me around like I'm going to collapse, heads will roll!" I yelled at the group of people all standing in front of me.

After I had woken up from my injury, Carlisle had done a full physical on me out of curiosity. That's when everyone discovered all the scars that littered my body. It was not a pleasant conversation.

_Flashback:_

"_Where the hell did all these scars come from? You didn't have them when you were with the Flock?" Fang yelled as he stalked around me._

_I could feel my feathers bristling in anger at his tone of voice._

"_Well, most of them are from my fights with the School when I was working to keep the School from killing all of you." I said backing quietly. Everyone besides Fang froze and held their breath. They knew that voice well. It only ever came out when I was well and truly pissed._

"_And we never asked you to do any of that! You can't pin any of this on the Flock!" Fang yelled._

_Silence followed. I narrowed my eyes at him, and I saw with satisfaction that Fang started to look just a bit nervous._

"_I never said that any of you asked me to do what I did. It seemed like the best, and only, option at the time, so I made that choice! I don't see why you are freaking out so much about it in the first place! You have Meghan, and I have Sam! So why don't you back the eff off!" I shrieked back._

"_I know that the School didn't put all those scars on you! You put some there yourself when you decided to have a pity party for yourself and take the easy way out! And leave Meghan out of this!"_

"_Pity party? I tried to take myself out of the equation so that the School wouldn't have a freaking guinea pig to keep using! Don't you dare yell at me for that while you found yourself a new family and landed in the lap of luxury! You have no idea how hard it was for me to try to do that knowing you all were alive and well somewhere!" I screamed at him. _

_I could feel Jasper trying to calm the whole situation down, but it was having absolutely no effect on me._

_With a muffled shriek of rage, I launched myself out the open window in my room and took to the sky. I could hear everyone in the house yelling at me as I dodged all of their hands as I shot past them. My wings pulled at my wound a bit, but the pain was welcomed, as it helped to pull me out of my rage. I focused on the ground to distract myself further, and saw a pack of giant wolves running below me. A black wolf, bigger than the rest, was in the lead and kept glancing up at me to keep me in sight._

_I smiled at Sam's protective streak to myself, and decided to see what their reactions would be to some air acrobatics. I led them to a clearing, and abruptly pulled in my wings. I could hear sharp yips of alarm come from the wolves as I hurtled towards the ground. At the last minute, I whipped out my wings and shot back up into the sky, which led to a long series of spins, flips, dives, and anything else that I could come up with to do. I finally grew tired of entertaining the overgrown wolves, landed lightly on my feet in front of them._

_Sam was immediately in my face, sniffing me all over for injuries and growling lightly at me, probably telling me off for scaring him. I laughed as the rest of the pack rushed forward to sniff me as well, except for the lone female of the pack. She hung back, glowering at me as I got all the attention of the males._

_I met her gaze around the males, and she took this as the challenge it was meant to be. I was having a bad day, and her attitude wasn't helping at all. She started to growl at me, and I shocked everyone when I started to growl/hiss at her right back. I guess the female forgot that I was part bird and could make quite a few different sounds. The staring contest continued until she recognized that I was more dominant than she, and she lowered her gaze. I nodded once in satisfaction, and turned my attention back to Sam."_

_End Flashback:_

Not everything in the week following my injury was bad, however. I met the kids that were traveling with Meghan before they all met up with the Cullens, and immediately fell in love with the youngest, a little boy. It annoyed Meghan to no end that he took to me immediately; he now preferred me to her. I replaced her and Esme as Mom in his eyes, and I loved it. Sam commented that I was a natural mother. Emmett and the rest of the Cullens were quick to agree with him.

The wolves and the Cullens were on better terms now, and the pack all took turns telling me it was all because of me. I could find no solid argument anytime they made the claim, and gave up arguing.

Nothing out of the ordinary had happened in a week, and I was starting to think that maybe I would finally be able to live a normal life… yeah right. Like I would ever be able to live a normal life. I'm Maximum Ride. I don't ever seem to catch a break.


End file.
